Perforate
adj, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 To pierce; to penetrate. transitive
- 2 pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance wordnet
- 3 To make a line of holes in (a thin material) to allow separation at the line. transitive
"to perforate a sheet of postage stamps"
- 4 make a hole into or between, as for ease of separation wordnet
- 1 Perforated. not-comparable, obsolete
"An Earthen Pot perforate at the Bottom to let in the Plant."
- 2 Perforated, having a hole. not-comparable, obsolete
"Suche abuses can not be longe hydde frome princis, that haue their eares perforate (as is the prouerbe)."
- 3 Perforated. not-comparable
"A species of remarkable appearance with mature leaf laminae often so profoundly perforate as to resemble a fragile net of tissue."
- 1 having a hole cut through wordnet
Example
More examples"Amoebic dysentery is a type of diarrheal disease that affects millions around the globe annually. Passed around by contaminated water, amoebas get into people's intestines, causing bloody diarrhea. If left untreated, these single-cell organisms can eventually perforate the intestines, spread throughout the body and kill the host. As Rose Hoban reports, researchers are learning more about the amoeba's ability to outwit the body's immune system."
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1425, in Middle English, the verb in 1538; from Middle English perforat(e) (“perforated, pierced”), borrowed from Latin perforātus, the perfect passive participle of perforō (“to bore or pierce through, to perforate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from per- (“through, thorough”) + forō (“to bore, pierce”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.